Sunday, October 12, 2014

Kale, coriander and chickens

I’ve eaten at Grazing, the restaurant settled in an 1865 pub in
Gundaroo in the rolling tablelands outside Canberra, many times over
several years. It’s always been very good – fresh, interesting local
produce, often from their own extensive garden out the back, thoughtful
food.

Today the air was clear and sharp, a fine
mid-winter day, a good day to eat and drink wine and to relax over a
long lunch with friends you haven’t seen for a while. The food matched
the day – I think it was the best I’ve ever had here.

I
had three very different choices. Usually I’m pretty happy if two of
three work out well but all three clicked. I started with roasted
pumpkin, pine nut and goats cheese fritters with almond aioli, garden
rocket salad and caramelised tomato chutney – simple but effective. I’m
always a soft touch for a good chutney or pickle, a pie, dumplings or
noodles – simple food made marvellous by good produce, better technique
and, above all, good imagination.

I thought about that
for a while, then it was time for game fish of the day from Bermagui –
swordfish, roasted with Eden mussels and garlic butter, finished with
local riesling on green onion and lemon pepper fritters.

I
was in Bermagui at Christmas time, hunkered down against the rain in a
caravan park and despite thinking hard I couldn’t remember ever being
there before – a pity because even amongst the huge array of south coast
places worth spending time in, Bermagui is a place worthy of being
high up the list. I’d sampled the local fish and chips and watched the
boats the fish came off and this gave the swordfish an extra resonance.

For
dessert I wanted to have the prunes in a brandy custard tart with a
toasted hazelnut pastry, served with an orange milk sorbet and hazelnut
praline but I was already out of luck. Someone had beaten me to it. I
almost went without but instead chose another dish – dark chocolate and
salted caramel delice served with malted ice cream, sesame seed crisp
and chocolate crumbs. It was superb.

The accompanying
drinks were all local – we drank Jeir Creek riesling and I had a
Gundaroo porter to start. This gave the local produce an extra fillip.

Afterwards
as the afternoon slipped away we walked amongst the vegetable and herb
beds out the back of the restaurant, looking closely at kale and
coriander and counting our chickens after they were hatched.

From June 2010

See also

'tableland' on Facebook – life on the land and at the table

'Life on the land and at the table, the companion Facebook site to this blog, for brief and topical snippets and vignettes about land to table – the daily routine of living in the high country, on the edge of the vast Pacific, just up from Sydney, just down from Mount Kosciuszko', 'tableland' on Facebook.

A princess comes home – paulownia trees and Japanese wedding chests
‘Recently I planted a new tree in my garden – a paulownia tree. I bought it because I have a 1930s Japanese wedding chest from near Tokyo made from kiri or paulownia, the very tree I have acquired and planted. It is named in honour of Queen Anna Pavlovna of The Netherlands (1795–1865), daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia. For this reason it is also often called ‘princess tree’ wood. It is very versatile – it has also been used in electric guitar bodies and in surboards in Australia. It was once customary to plant a paulownia tree when a baby girl was born and then to make it into a chest as a wedding present when she married. This is unlikely to be the fate of my tree but it’s comforting to know that at a pinch it could be uprooted and converted into a wardrobe for some deserving niece’, A princess comes home - paulownia trees and Japanese wedding chests.I must go down to the sea again – Sailor’s Thai Canteen still cooking
‘We went back to a favourite spot, Sailors Thai Canteen, established by renowned chef David Thompson who has now long relocated to Bangkok, where it all originates. There were just the two of us so we kept it simple. Remembring people and places. Memory is all we have to hold the world together. Memories of eating and drinking together are a big part of that. Eating, drinking and talking – about everything and nothing, till the cows come home’, I must go down to the sea again – Sailor’s Thai Canteen still cooking.Peas in a pod – food takes off
‘Pod Food is in the heart of the slightly ramshackle gardening and nursery hub of Canberra, Pialligo , adjacent to the burgeoning exercise in urban growth called Canberra Airport. It was always the place you went to get large pots and even larger apples. Pod Food was always good enough – but now it is something a whole lot more impressive. On a rainy Friday I entered through their marvellous cottage garden entrance way to sit on the covered and contained outside deck. The entrance to Pod Food, formerly part of an operating nursery, is the sort of garden I eventually want to have. It felt highly suitable sitting at the entrance to the Australian high country as the rain came down, drinking the fine product of another high region on the opposite side of the world’, Peas in a pod – food takes off.

Vitello Tonnato for a life well lived in hipster heaven
‘It had been quite a week and I had been crushed by too many encounters with the crazy world of Centrelink as I fulfilled my long list of aged care responsibilities. I needed cheering up so last night ate out at the venerable Italian and Sons, the very first of the many funky venues which now enliven Braddon. My attention was drawn to the rare appearance of vitello tonnato. My imagination had been captured decades ago when I was a young boy by seeing the recipe for the dish in Margaret Fulton’s classic cookbook. I finally tried it in a tiny restaurant in Florence, during my first visit overseas, after a stint at the massive Frankfurt Book Fair in 1989. This most recent one was the best I have ever eaten outside my own home – well, perhaps the best anywhere. This is a favourite place, probably my most favourite in Canberra. Coming here always makes me feel happy and what more can you ask?’, Vitello Tonnato for a life well lived in hipster heaven.Eating out in a cold, funky city – Canberra comes of age in the Asian Century
‘On a day and night which was bitterly cold – as cold as Canberra has been this year, with the hint of snow clouds overhead – I was reminded why I live here. As we wandered along after a full day of cultural institutions and design events, looking for somewhere to eat we impetuously popped into Restaurant Eightysix and even more impetuously were able to get a table. I had forgotten reading somewhere that famed long-former Adelaide chef, Christine Manfield was here for the month, cooking up an Asian-inspired menu. How much better could it get?’, Eating out in a cold, funky city – Canberra comes of age in the Asian Century.Smoking for broke beside the Molongolo
‘Where the market gardens that supplied Canberra as far back as the 1820s used to be a small fortune has been spent turning 86 acres overlooking the Eastern end of Lake Burley Griffin into a superb regional restaurant, Pialligo Estate Farmhouse Restaurant. It made for a tremendous birthday lunch in a spacious airy and light space, full of exciting food treated well. I couldn’t take my eyes off the copper guttering and downpipes. I thought all the loose copper in the world had already been stolen but clearly it’s still available. It’s quite clear that even though work is still being finalised, when it is finished it will be a spectacular addition to the nation’s capital and the region’, Smoking for broke beside the Molongolo.

Provenance - knowing where good things come from
‘It took me only five years but I finally found my way to Provenance, the legendary regional restaurant established by chef Michael Ryan in Beechworth in 2010. Provenance is widely considered one of the best restaurants in regional Victoria, in a tiny state that contains many good regional restaurants. I had been meaning to eat there since it was established and given how regularly we travel to Beechworth and its surrounds I was amazed I hadn’t been earlier. It took some time but it was worth it’, Provenance - knowing where good things come from

In praise of the Berra
‘When I first moved to Canberra, almost as an accidental intersection of geography and employment after the Sydney Olympics, I used to say “if you had lived in Sydney and one day you woke up and discovered you were in Canberra, you would think you had died.” Then I changed my mind. It took ten years but it was inevitable. Berrans are a hardy bunch – they can withstand the hot winds of summer and of Australia’s Parliament, the chill flurries from the Snowy Mountains and the chilling news of budget cuts. The Berra is half-way between everywhere’, In praise of the Berra.

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tableland

The daily routine of living in the high country – the Southern Tablelands of the eastern seaboard of Australia. Planting and growing, cooking and eating (and drinking) – and the arts and culture that springs from it and celebrates it. On the edge of the vast Pacific, just up from Sydney, just down from Mount Kosciuszko.

About Me

Stephen Cassidy is a cultural researcher and writer who has worked across the Australian cultural sector for 40 years. This has spanned policy, programs and research in government, museums, publishing, community arts and radio in four states and territories at national, state and local level. It has encompassed creative industries – including contemporary music and literature – intangible cultural heritage and Indigenous culture and languages. He was Director of the National Cultural Policy Task Force, wrote the proposal that initiated the Digital Content Industry Action Agenda, drafted the Indigenous Contemporary Music Action Plan and played an instrumental role in the adoption of Australia’s first National Indigenous Languages Policy. He has been a Community Arts Officer in local government, ACTU Arts Officer, Development Manager at community radio 2SER-FM and Membership Manager for the Powerhouse Museum. His writing has appeared in a range of publications, been recognised in various literary awards and competitions and included in several exhibitions. He is currently a member of ACT independent arts forum, the Childers Group, and an Adjunct with the University of Canberra.

My blogs

indefinite article: irreverent articles about contemporary Australian society, popular culture, the creative economy and the digital and online world – life in the trenches and on the beaches of the information age.

balloon: thought balloons for our strange and unsettled times – short, quirky articles about the eccentricities of everyday life, almost always with a sense of short black humour.

handwriting: homegrown graffiti from the digital world – writing, rhyming and digital animations.

tableland: land to table – the daily routine of living in the high country, on the edge of the vast Pacific, just up from Sydney, just down from Mount Kosciuszko.